


Another Lost Sister

by ce_writes_things



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Canon Compliant, College, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:14:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28915197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ce_writes_things/pseuds/ce_writes_things
Summary: Steve and Nancy go to college. At the University of Chicago, they meet Nancy's roommate. She's keeping a secret. The Upside Down is never truely gone. Not an AU, post canon.
Relationships: Dustin Henderson/Suzie, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Steve Harrington/Original Female Character(s), Will Byers/Original Male Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	Another Lost Sister

"MIKE STOP THAT!" Nancy yells at her little brother. Why she had to bring them along for move-in day is beyond her.

It had been a long week already. Jonathan had moved into NYU a week earlier due to his early photography classes. She wishes that she could've gone to school with him, but the University of Chicago was the only place that would accept a woman for what she wanted to major in. Women's studies. After working for the Hawkins Post, Nancy decided that she wants to make a difference with how women are treated so she chose to learn from some of the best. Not being able to see Johnathan as often would be hard, but they've proven these past few months that they can handle long distance. Where the dorms are worked out great though. The Byers house is the next town over so Nancy could keep an eye on Johnathan's family for him. After the insane events over the summer, and really the past two years, it wasn't a bad idea to make sure that they're looked after.

Anyways, her mom and brother are here to help her move in because Holly wouldn't be fun to sit in a car with for hours and her dad had to work. Robin and Steve aren't too far behind them. Steve found a way to escape his dad's influence and go to college on his own credit. He still isn't sure about his major, but he has time to figure that out.

Mike on the other hand wants to get this over as soon as possible. She can understand his want to go see Eleven, but she's heading to college for heaven's sake.

"Hey Dingus, where did you put the stuff?!" Robin calls over, referring to his dorm's location. All freshman have to live in dorms, then they can transition to live in apartments that they chose near school.

"I don't know. MIKE! Where did you put it?!" Steve shouts over the pickup truck.

"Why do you think I touched it?!" Mike shouts back.

Nancy rolls her eyes, it's not like her mom is any help with handling Mike. "Could you shut up?"

They both pout at her.

"C'mon, I found it" Robin points to where they're supposed to be going. It's right there in the card they got their keys with. "Nice going Dingus."

"It's getting older each time you say it!" Steve tells her.

Robin rolls her eyes and flips him off, "not gonna stop me from doin' it."

"Ok, Nancy is in this building right here so how about we drop everything off, get some lunch, then get back to work." Steve and Robin nod and go to harass each other in Steve's building. Boy Nancy feels bad for whoever his new roommate is.

Each of the Wheelers grab one of the many boxes that Nancy packed, most of them are clothes that she's going to never end up wearing anyway. They head up what has to be a million flights of stairs filled with students moving in and their sentimental families helping them.

When they get up to the sixth floor, surprised is the first thing that Nancy feels before worried. The door to her dorm is wide open. "It's probably just your roommate" Mrs. Wheeler nudges her daughter in. Nancy is a little nervous to say the least. She hasn't had a female friend, other than Robin and a bunch of younger kids, since Barb. And she can't go to her mom whenever she needs to talk to someone after the semester starts.

Nancy knocks on the door, "hello?"

A head sticks out from behind the door that had to lead to the bathroom. "Oh hi Roomie." The girl walks towards her, not overly cheerful, but at a relaxed pace. "I'm Julia Ivans."

"Nancy, Wheeler" She manages to get out. Apparently her new roommate is the 'doppleganger' as Dustin puts it of Eleven, aside from the hair color. Eleven's is a few shades darker than Julia's.

Julia notices Mike staring at her. "What? Do I have something on my nose?"

"No, you just look like my girlfriend." Mike stutters.

Julia smiles at him like one would to a baby, "sorry, I don't like younger men. Not the worst pickup line I've ever heard though."

Mrs. Wheeler laughs. She then sees the few boxes scattered on the floor. "Oh, do you need any help with boxes."

"No thanks, I got it" Julia smiles. She has the voice of a quiet person, intelligent though. Unfortunately all the intelligent people that Nancy knew always spoke like there's no tomorrow, this will be a nice change of pace.

Mike goes out again with his mom to bring in some more boxes. Nancy pats her hands against her jeans, turning around in a circle before settling on her bed. "What's your major?" Julia looks up at her. "If you don't mind me asking that is."

"I want to be a judge, but not many female judges around now. I still have to start somewhere so law. You?"

"Women's studies."

Julia smiles at the unique choice. From what she could observe, Nancy is a person that gets uncomfortable in silence, she likes to speak her mind, and she has a strange past. Not a bad past, just strange. That's a good first impression, right?

* * *

Steve's dorm was in the building across from Nancy's so the walk with boxes isn't too horrible. Robin is walking up the stairs when she trips, the box's contents scattering on the floor. "Shit!"

She picks everything up, seeing what he brought scares her a bit. "Dingus, why'd you bring this." She holds up the bat he has with nails in. "I'm about 99 percent sure that you can't have this here."

"I know, it just looks cool" Steve wines. Robin pats his cheek. "Well dingus, if no girls take an interest because they think you might kill them, I'm not gonna feel bad."

"Fair enough, besides if you can't remember who I am" dramatic pause "I'm the Hair"

Robin rolls her eyes and goes to hug him. She nuzzles her face into his t-shirt. "I'm going to miss you" she mutters. Since Starcourt, the two have become what would be siblings. Robin was kicked out of her house after she came out to her parents in August. They had caught her kissing one of her friends and they threw a pile of cash at her once she got out of the house. Steve had also been kicked out by his father for not going directly to college. His mother tolerates him, but she's glad he won't be around anymore.

"I know, remember that I'll visit. If you ever need to talk, I'm only a call away."

"You're not getting me to cry to you now" Robin smacks his shoulder. "The Wheelers should be done unloading by now. You owe me by the way, I have to be in the car with Nerd 3 after he leaves Nerd 4 and his girlfriend." She explains.

"Ok, yeah I'm actually sorry about that."

* * *

"Hey Nancy" Steve's knuckles rap against the door.

The door opens and Steve's eyes meet hazel ones instead of blue ones. Steve takes a short intake of breath, a faint blush gracing his cheeks.

"Hi, can I help you?" She asks.

Steve points his finger past her should, unable to formulate words. Luckily, she understands. "Nancy, you got some visitors" she calls over. "Hi, I'm Julia, Nancy's roommate"

Robin smiles at her, happy that she found someone to embarrass Steve in front of. "Hi, I'm Robin. This is Steve Harrington, or the Hair as they called him in high school." Steve shrugs off the hand that she put on his shoulder.

Steve clears his throat, making sure to use a deeper voice than normal. "Nancy, are you guys ready to go for lunch?"

"Are you making your voice deeper?" Nancy asks. Julia tries, and fails, to stifle a snicker.

"Ummm, no?"

"Yeah you just did it again." Mike points out, not noticing Steve's near pleading look to not say anything. Mike raises his eyebrow. "What?"

Mrs. Wheeler decides to take control of the situation before it gets too awkward for Julia, "Mike, Robin, Steve, let's go pick up the takeout. Nancy, make some friends" she kisses her daughter's cheek before pulling the other three people out of the room.

"So" Julia chuckles nervously. "Is he your brother, boyfriend, or annoying aquantance?"

"Umm, all of the above. He we were partners in chem, year after that we dated for a while, now he's basically my older brother. What about you, any brothers or boyfriends?"

"Nope, no brothers. All the guys I've ever had any interest in were bastards so no boyfriend. Where you from?"

Nancy wonders how she should approach this since the many news sights about the events at Starcourt don't shed a positive light on where she grew up. She decides that it's not like Julia won't find out. "Hawkins, in Indiana."

A sort of light shuts off in Julia's eyes. "My dad lived around there for a while." She says with a small scowl on her face. Beginning to fiddle with one of the many bracelets that cover her wrist.

Nancy wonders what must've happened, nobody named Ivans was one of the flayed. She would've asked, the reporter in her attempting to escape her cage. She's able to stop herself though. Best not to scare off the first friend you make in a new place.

"How about you?" Nancy asks, hoping not to trigger anything.

"All over. I moved pretty much every year."

"How cool"

"Not really, it gets old after a while. Now, I get to control where I go and what I do."

This makes Nancy wonder more. She'd always had plently of freedom because she was responsible and her parents had three kids and jobs to take care of. She'd never seen college as an escape or time to try something new. Maybe she should.

* * *

A few hours later, Nancy has learned a handful of facts about her roommate. The main one being is that she is very private. She refrains from speaking about her family or how she grew up.

Julia had left a few minutes ago to let the Wheelers and Steve say their goodbyes privately. Mrs. Wheeler gives Nancy a hug. "Ohhhhh, I'm going to miss you so much."

"Mom, I can't breathe" Nancy pulls away from her mom's tightened grasp.

"I know, I'm just going to miss you so much sweetie" she sobs, pulling Nancy to her again. Nancy makes a forceful look at Mike, he simply shrugs. Nancy squirms out again, stepping back.

"Goodbye asswipe" Nancy hugs her brother. He cringes at the contact but still hugs back. He steps back and does his handshake with Steve, "bye"

Robin and Nancy give each other a girly hug that Steve joins in on. "I'm going to miss you guys."

"Even him?" Nancy gasps in fake shock. Robin makes a face like she just came to a realization. Steve pinches her shoulder. "I hate you guys."

Robin sticks her tongue out at him. "Bye Princess, bye Dingus." She disapears from the door.

Steve laughs a little, walking without direction around the room. Nancy leans back on her bed to start reading something.

"Is this Julia's stuff?" Steve asks. Nancy's head perks up, remembering that Julia asked for privacy when it came to her belongings. "Yeah, I don't think she wants either of us poking around it."

"No, I was just wondering. This photo looks really familiar." Steve holds out a photo that he found sticking out of a book.

Nancy scoots off her bed. It's a photo of a railroad in a forest, nothing about it jogs her memory.

"She said her Dad was from the area around Hawkins, she probably went to his house or something."

Steve slides the photo back into the book. "Or something"

**Author's Note:**

> Will have some Mileven next chapter <3


End file.
